Hexago Successfully Ports Quake III Arena to IPv6

TMCnet Associate Editor

Hexago, a provider of IPv6 deployment solutions, has reportedly ported the popular online first person shooter game Quake III Arena to IPv6, the next generation Internet protocol which will serve as the basis for the “new Internet.”

The project is designed to serve as an example of how existing applications can be successfully ported to IPv6 – as well as to demonstrate the advantages of IPv6 for the (online) gaming industry.

“The Hexago Quake III porting project benefits developers who have an application to port that is written in C and who seek to determine the steps involved and estimate the amount of work required to port the application to IPv6,” a press release from Hexago states. “Using IPv6, a gamer behind a NAT can start his or her own server without going through the process of configuring port forwarding on the NAT device. IPsec can also be used, if needed, to secure the connections.”

Developers and gamers who wish to test the game with IPv6 will first need IPv6 access, which is available for free through Hexago’s Freenet6 service at http://www.hexago.com/index.php?pgID=step1. In addition, users will need the game itself (or the demo) and the source code, which can be downloaded directly for Hexago or compiled from source using the diff file. Then it’s just a matter of logging onto one of Hexago’s public servers and launching a unicast. More details can be found at http://www.hexago.com/index.php?pgID=52.

IPv6 is the next generation protocol which will create almost limitless IP addresses for the Internet. It succeeds the current protocol, IPv4, and is already in use on other parts of the world, including China. Advantages include improved security, reduced need for NAT, and true peer-to-peer networking, thus resulting in more efficient use of bandwidth.

IPv6 holds great promise for the online gaming industry as it will facilitate true peer-to-peer multiplayer games without the need to invest in additional infrastructure. With IPv6, it is possible for every device on a network - including a game console - to have its own IP address.

“Through the Quake III porting project and white paper, public server for Quake III, and Freenet6 service, we are proud to extend a real world example of an IPv6 implementation to application developers,” said Bruce Sinclair, Hexago President and CEO, in the press release.

For more information about Hexago, visit: http://www.hexago.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.